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’Tis the season of the Wiesn: The Oktoberfest for locals and tourists
The newest thing at this year’s Oktoberfest was not at the Oktoberfest.
The Oktoberfest or Wiesn was on hold for three years, which for Bavarians was almost as bad as canceling Christmas. Restaurant and brewery owners quickly filled the gap — and their cash registers — by creating an open-air Oktoberfest-like atmosphere in restaurants in the center of the city. Now they have become an extension of the real thing: servers wear the usual Bavarian garb, tables are decorated with hops and straw wreaths, and they serve the same food that you would get at the Wiesn: chicken, duck, sausages, and Obatzda, a Bavarian cheese spread. They also have Brotzeitbretter or “snack boards” with cheese, radishes, and pretzels.
If you still don’t believe me when I say the Oktoberfest isn’t just for tourists, you have clearly never tried to reserve a table there. The official website says openly that it is virtually impossible to get a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night — or even for lunch. But most beer tents are required to leave large sections unreserved for the hapless tourist who didn’t realize that…
